Great Sleep Apnea Surgery Options

Learn more information about the many different sleep apnea surgery options you have open to you. Find out which one could work best for you.

There are a lot of people that surfer from sleep apnea. However, before we get into the different kinds of surgeries that you can have done to treat sleep apnea, you need to know what sleep apnea is. This is where something gets in the way of your breathing while you are trying to sleep. People who are at a higher risk for sleep apnea would be people who are overweight and people who are over 40 years old. If you let sleep apnea go untreated, it can lead to stroke or even a heart attack, and in worst cases, death. Thus, you can see why it is very important to keep sleep apnea under control. The main problem about treating sleep apnea is that sometimes the different products that they have out there for you are not enough to cure it. Thus, you have to have surgery. There are many different sleep apnea surgery options out there for you to choose from.

The first and most used type of sleep apnea surgery would be the Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty. This is a type of sleep apnea surgery that actually removes a lot of the excess tissue in your throat. This way your airway is wider, and thus, allows more air in. This is a type of surgery can only be used on adults. Not only that, there are no studies that have been done (or at least there is no proof) that this kind of surgery actually helps. Most doctors agree that it does, but there has been no proof of it helping as of yet. Doctors also say that tonsillectomy can be a great way to cure sleep apnea if you have it. People who have enlarged tonsils may be suffering from sleep apnea, because it is blocking their airway while they sleep. Most of the time, this is one of the first kinds of surgeries that is done, and it is the first one done for children.

Some people even choose to go with a type of sleep apnea surgery that is called tracheostomy. This is actually where they choose to create a hole in your windpipe. From this point, a tube is then put in the hole, and it can be used to bring in air. Most of the time, doctors never use this kind of surgery, however, because there are a ton of health problems that can come from it. If nothing else has worked, this is the next best option. Another common thing that is done, is called bariatric surgery, and this is done for weight loss. If you are very obese, then a lot of times, that excess weight pushing down on your throat could be causing your sleep apnea. Thus, this surgery would help to cure that.

As you can see, there are a ton of things that you can do to take care of your sleep apnea. Of course, no matter what you choose to do, it is very important that you do get it taken care of. If you think that you are suffering from sleep apnea, it's a good idea to go to talk to your doctor. Find out if there is a way that they can help you without doing surgery. If not, then you will have to move onto doing some kind of surgery.